


A Thorn in the Mayor's Side

by Klainelover1997



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 12:27:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20564312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Klainelover1997/pseuds/Klainelover1997
Summary: When Regina wakes up one morning, she just doesn't feel right. Over the day things begin to get worse and things take a scary turn.





	A Thorn in the Mayor's Side

From the moment she woke up, Regina could tell something was off. She wasn’t in pain, but she just didn’t feel good. Nevertheless, she was the mayor and she had things to do. After carefully extracting herself from Robin’s grasp, Regina pushed herself out of bed and lumbered into the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and didn’t like what she saw. She looked pale and there were dark circles underneath her eyes. Frowning, Regina tried to ignore her sickly complexion and hopped in the shower so she could make it to work on time. 

After exiting the shower, Regina pulled on one of her many pantsuits and threw on some makeup to try and make herself look a bit more presentable. When she went into the kitchen, she could smell bacon frying in the pan on the stove. Robin had clearly woken up not too long after her and had started breakfast. As nice as that was, the smell of the bacon only made Regina’s stomach curl. There was no way she was going to be able to eat right now. 

“Mama!” Roland said suddenly. “Papa made breakfast. Bacon! Your favorite!” Regina smiled at the little boy, especially at his use of the word “Mama.” It was crazy how such a short word could make her heart flutter so much. 

“I can see that,” Regina replied with a smile. 

“How many strips would you like milady?” Robin asked. “They’re just about finished.” 

“I’m afraid I don’t have time.” Regina lied. She had plenty of time, but just the thought of eating any of that bacon made her stomach hurt even more. “I have a very early meeting.”   
“You? Regina Mills...is turning down bacon?” Robin asked. He walked over to her and placed the back of his hand over her forehead. “Are you feeling alright?” he asked with a laugh. 

“I’m fine,” Regina lied. “Just late,” she added, before pressing a kiss to the side of Robin’s face. 

“Alright.” Robin amended. “But don’t forget we have that family dinner at David and Snow’s tonight.” 

“Oh right,” Regina replied. “I will meet the two of you there,” she added with a smile as she grabbed her briefcase and made her way out the front door. Internally, Regina groaned. Making it through today was going to be hard enough, let alone making it through a meal with the world’s most cheerful couple. Regina honestly wasn’t sure she could stomach the two of them today. 

After making it to work, Regina tried to plow through mountains of paperwork and meetings with numerous citizens of Storybrooke. However, throughout the day her stomach pain just seemed to increase. The nausea that she had felt that morning was still present but now accompanied by a dull ache on the right side of her lower abdomen. When the clock chimed saying it was finally five o’clock, Regina could not have been more relieved. She gathered her things and despite her desperate desire to just go home, she made her way over to David and Snow’s apartment. She walked up the stairs in the building, each step feeling like a dagger was poking her in the side but she finally made it. She knocked on the door and was pleasantly surprised when Henry opened the door. “Mom! You made it!” he exclaimed as he pulled her into a hug. Though she loved her son, his grip on her now made her want to scream out in pain and she couldn’t have felt more relieved when he let go. After breaking from the embrace, Regina followed Henry into the apartment where David and Snow were finishing up dinner in the kitchen. Robin was also already there as well with Roland who was sitting on the floor playing with baby Neal. Emma and Hook were mixing drinks for everyone on the other end of the kitchen. 

“Regina, you’re here!” Emma said. “I have an apple martini just calling your name”   
“Thank you but I’m okay for now,” Regina replied politely. Emma gave her a strange look. 

“You’re turning down an apple martini? You feelin’ okay?” Emma asked. 

“That’s what I asked her this morning,” Robin replied, chiming in 

“I’m fine.” Regina lied, taking a seat on the couch. “Just tired.” Everyone just kind of let her go for the time being. Instead, Regina pretended to watch over Roland and Neal while she was really trying to deal with the pain in her abdomen. 

Before she knew it, Regina heard Snow announce that dinner was ready. She pushed herself off of the couch but quickly regripped it as a dizzy spell came over her. Luckily, no one seemed to notice. She was able to make it to the table but as soon as the smell of the food hit her a wave of nausea washed over her. Regina was shaking now and the nausea was quickly overwhelming her. She knew that if she didn’t get to a bathroom soon that it wasn’t going to be pretty. “I’ll be right back.” She said quietly, pushing herself quickly to the bathroom. She went inside and locked the door. She tried willing herself to not throw up but it was clear that wasn’t going to be a possibility anymore. Giving in, Regina knelt before the toilet and heaved violently. It seemed like the vomiting would never stop. She just prayed that no one could hear her. 

Back out in the kitchen, Emma looked around and noticed that Regina wasn’t getting food. “Anyone seen Regina?” she asked. 

“I think she just went to the bathroom,” Robin replied. “But that was a little while ago.” 

“I’m gonna check on her,” Emma said. She walked down the hallway and knocked on the bathroom door. “Regina? Are you alright in there?” 

“I-I’m fine.” Regina managed to get out. She was still hunched over the toilet, filled with nausea. “I’ll be right o-” was all she managed to say before her stomach betrayed her and she threw up once again...this time loud enough for Emma to hear. 

“Regina, are you throwing up?” She asked. “Open the door. Let me come make sure you’re okay.” At this point, Regina was feeling so terrible she was ready to let Emma in. She couldn’t keep up with the tough girl act any longer. She was sick and there was no denying it. When Emma didn’t hear any movement inside the bathroom, she reached to the top of the door frame and grabbed the skeleton key. After wiggling it in the lock, the bathroom door opened to reveal Regina was still on the floor. She was normally pale but now she just looked grey. 

“Oh, Regina…” Emma said. “Why didn’t you tell us?” 

“Thought I was fine…” Regina replied with a cough. Emma placed her hand on Regina’s forehead. 

“You’re burning up.” she murmured. “I’m gonna get Robin.” 

“Emma...please no,” Regina added weakly. “I don’t want to want to ruin the night.” 

“Regina, you’re sick. No one is going to be mad.” Emma said. “Let’s just focus on getting you comfortable and feeling better. I’m gonna be right back. Are you gonna be okay?” Regina nodded. She knew that it was no use in fighting Emma and she was simply too weak to even try. Emma returned in a few moments with Robin by her side. 

“Regina, love, why didn’t you tell me?” Robin said kneeling down beside ber and pushing a few strands of her raven hair from her forehead. 

“I thought I was fine,” Regina replied. “I’m sure it’s just a virus.” 

“Well, regardless, we’ve got to get you home,” Robin replied. Home. That was the first word that made Regina feel even the slightest bit better. However, her relief was quickly interrupted by another wave of nausea. Seeing his wife turn green, Robin knew was coming. As Regina bent over the toilet once more, Robin pulled back his wife’s hair and placed a comforting hand on her back as she got sick. “It’s alright. Get it out,” he said. “Emma, could you get her some water.” 

“Yes of course,” Emma replied. “I’ll talk to my mom and see if they’d take Roland for the night so you won’t have to worry about taking care of him or him catching whatever Regina has.” 

“That’s a good idea.” Robin agreed. After Emma had left, he turned his attention back to Regina who had finally stopped throwing up. “Just breathe. We’ll go home soon,” he muttered softly. Regina nodded as she leaned into his grasp, suddenly feeling even weaker. “Milady, your shaking,” he said as he embraced her. Upon feeling how hot she was it was clear the chills were from a fever and not from the slightly chilly apartment temperature. 

“I’m really tired,” Regina muttered. 

“I know, love,” Robin replied as he pressed a kiss to her temple. “We’ll move soon,” he promised. Emma returned shortly after that with a bottle of Gatorade and a plastic bag in hand. 

“Roland is totally fine to stay the night or however long you guys need to get Regina feeling better,” Emma told them. “I grabbed a Gatorade for her. I don’t know if she can keep any of it down though so I grabbed the bag too. You just have to make sure she doesn’t get dehydrated.” 

“Of course, thank you, Emma,” Robin replied. “Alright love, let’s go home.” He helped Regina into a standing position and she leaned most of her weight on him. Together, they walked into the living room. Regina hated feeling this vulnerable. She was the mayor, the evil queen… she wasn’t this person, so weak and fragile. 

“Mama! Papa! I want to come with you.” Roland said, watching his parents move towards the door. 

“Right now you’ve got to stay with David and Snow, alright buddy. Mama’s sick and I need to take care of her.” Robin told his son. 

“But I want to help!” Roland insisted. 

“Sweetheart, It’s very nice that you want to help but I would hate for you to get this and feel so sick.” Regina managed to get out. “Besides you’ll have much more fun here.’   
“Yeah Roland,” Henry said, chiming in. “I’ll stay the night - if that’s okay with you Gram and Gramps? And we’ll play video games and stay up late.” 

“Really?” Roland replied, his eyes wide with excitement. Everyone knew that Roland idolized his big brother, Henry and would do anything to hang out with him. “Okay,” he finally agreed. “Feel better Mama.” 

“Thank you, my little prince,” Regina said. “I love you.” 

“Love you too,” Roland replied. Robin knew that he had to get Regina home. He could feel the fever radiating off her body. Everyone told her to “Get better” and then Robin and Regina started on their way home. It felt like an eternity but they finally made. That was when Regina let herself truly feel miserable. Unable to even make it to their bedroom, she had Robin lie her down on the couch. Robin grabbed a blanket, covered her up and then grabbed the small trash can from the bathroom and set it next to her just in case.

“Sweetheart, is there anything that I can get you?” Robin asked. 

“No, I’m okay,” Regina replied, panting slightly. “I just want to sleep.” 

“Alright my darling, just rest. I’ll be here.” Robin told her. Regina closed her eyes and tried desperately to sleep. She was able to for a little while before her nausea woke her up and sent her diving for the trash can. Robin was by her side in a second to help. They both knew that they were in for a long night. As the night went on, Regina’s fever continued to climb and the pain in her stomach was getting more and more unbearable. Robin started putting cold washcloths on her forehead to try and bring her fever down. Feeling exhausted himself, Robin took a moment to just close his eye when he though Regina was comfortable. That, however, seemed to be the wrong thing to do. Regina awoke with more pain in her abdomen than she knew what to do with. 

“R-Robin…” she said weakly, crying out in pain. Robin’s eyes fluttered open and he stood up. 

“Regina, what is it? What’s wrong?” 

“Oh god,” she moaned. “It hurts. Robin, it hurts so much. Something is wrong.” Robin was a bit at a loss of what to do. He took her temperature one last time and when it read 104 degrees, he made a choice. 

“We’re going to the hospital.” He told her. “You need help.” He expected Regina to fight him but she didn’t. He could tell she was in so much pain. She was breathing heavily, looked pale as a ghost and there were tears in her eyes. Regina didn’t cry...it was clear that she needed the hospital. Robin tried to help her stand but she could barely manage that. She had to stay hunched over because straightening her body out was simply too painful. Robin could hear her cries with every step and it seemed like an eternity until they made it to the hospital. Being the mayor does have its perks though because Regina received attention immediately. Nurses got bloodwork from her and put in an IV, much to Regina’s dismay. Then Dr. Whale came in. 

“Alright Regina, I can see you're in quite a bit of pain.” Dr. Whale said. “Can you tell me where it hurts?” 

“My stomach. Down here,” she replied, her teeth gritted from the pain. 

“Alright, I’m going to just take a look.” Dr. Whale told her. He lifted up her shirt and even that hurt. “Okay, Regina, I’m going to press down on your stomach and I need you to tell me if it hurts,” he said. Regina nodded, tears running down her cheeks. Dr. Whale pressed down on her stomach and she cried out in pain as she buried her face in Robin’s side and squeezed his hand. “Okay, now this is very important. Tell me if it hurts more when I take my hands away.” Dr. Whale removed his hands and Regina’s vision went white and she promptly threw up over the side of the stretcher. “I will take that as a yes.” Dr. Whale said. 

“Doctor, please what’s wrong with her?” Robin asked. 

“I’m pretty sure it’s her appendix.” Whale replied. “If it hasn’t burst yet, it’s about to. We need to get her prepped for surgery.” 

“Wait, surgery?” Robin asked. “Are you sure?” 

“Positive.” Whale said. “Listen, this is a fairly routine surgery but we need to get in there quickly or it could get pretty bad. Nurses, we need you in here now. We need to prep her for an emergency appendectomy.” Things moved quickly from there and Regina was whisked away back to the OR. Robin was so scared. Things like this were still new to him because they didn’t have surgeries like this in the Enchanted Forest. People didn’t recover there when things like this happened. He needed someone with him so he decided to call Emma. 

“Robin?” She answered sleepily. “What is it? Is Regina alright?” 

“They took her into surgery,” Robin told her. “It’s her appendix.” 

“Oh god,” Emma replied. “I’ll be right there.” Robin didn’t fight her on that. 

“Okay, please hurry,” he told her before hanging up. Robin sat in silence by himself for the next hour until Emma arrived. 

“How is she?” she asked. 

“Still in surgery,” Robin replied. “I haven’t heard from the doctor yet.” Emma took a seat next to Robin and placed her hand over his.

“She’s gonna be fine. Regina is the strongest, most stubborn person I have ever met and there’s no way she’s going to let a little appendix take her down.” Emma told him with a laugh. 

“I hope you’re right,” Robin replied. They sat in the waiting room for what felt like hours before Dr. Whale finally came out to them. They both stood up to meet him. 

“How is she?” Robin asked. 

“She’s stable,” Whale told them. “Her appendix did burst, but we’ve removed it and tried to clean out the infection as much as we could. We had to put an NG tube in to remove the rest of the infection.” 

“But she’s going to be okay?” Emma asked. 

“Yes, she’ll definitely need some time to recover. She’ll probably be in the hospital for the next few days but she’ll be okay.” 

“Thank you,” Robin said, pulling Dr. Whale into a hug. “Can we see her?”

“She resting but yes.” Whale replied. “The nurse will show you to her room.” Emma and Robin followed the nurse down the hallway to the intensive care unit. Regina was in the last room on the right. When they walked in, both Emma and Robin were a bit shocked. Regina looked so small and fragile lying in the bed. She was still pale but looked more comfortable. The tube coming out of her nose was a bit frightening for both of them. Robin moved closer to his wife and took her hand into his. 

“Regina, love, I’m here,” he whispered as he ran his fingers through her dark hair. Slowly Regina began to stir and her eyes opened. 

“Robin-” She struggled to get out, swallowing thickly. Her throat hurt and there was something in her nose. “W-what happened?” she asked. 

“Your appendix burst. They had to do emergency surgery.” Robin told her. Regina was a bit in shock and really didn’t remember anything that happened before this. Her hand made its way up to the tube. “It’s a tube to drain the infection. Don’t pull on it, okay.” He told her. She nodded and then realized that Emma was there too. 

“Emma, you’re here?” she asked. 

“Well, yeah. You needed surgery. I was worried.” Emma replied. “Henry can’t lose his mother.” Regina smiled at that. 

“Henry, where is he?” 

“Still with my parents. He and Roland had made a fort and were deciding to sleep in it when Hook and I left.” Emma told her. 

“That’s nice,” Regina replied, wincing slightly as she tried to move in the bed. 

“Are you in pain? Shall I get a nurse?” Robin asked ready to drop everything to get Regina whatever she needed. 

“No really, I’m okay. I’m sore but much better.” Regina replied. 

“Next time, you need to tell someone earlier when you’re feeling that bad.” Robin scolded. “I almost lost you and I don’t think I could live if that happened.” 

“I’m right here,” Regina said, holding his hand a bit tighter. “I promise though I’ll get help sooner next time. I’m feeling tired. Can I go to sleep?” she asked. 

“Of course, my love. I’ll be here when you wake up.” He told her. Emma went home shortly after to tell everyone what had happened but Robin refused to leave Regina’s side. After the tube came out of her nose, Regina allowed Henry and Roland to come see her. She had told Robin that there was absolutely no way she was going to scar either one of her children by letting them see their mother that way. However, when the tube was finally out, Regina was anxious to see her boys. 

“She’s right in here,” Robin said as he led Henry and Roland into the hospital room. 

“Mom, you’re alright,” Henry said. He walked quickly to his mother and gave her a hug. Regina winced at the pain in her incision site. “Oh gosh, I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” 

“It’s alright honey. I’m okay.” She told him. “I’m just glad you’re here. I’m glad your both here.” She looked toward the doorway where Roland was hiding behind Robin’s legs. 

“Roland, sweetheart, it’s alright. You can come in. I’m okay.” She said softly. 

“Come on son, mama’s okay now,” Robin told him, leading him by the hand to Regina. 

“You can sit on the bed with me,” Regina told him. Roland nodded and allowed Robin to place him on the bed next to his mother. The little boy cuddled in his mother’s embrace. 

“I thought you were gonna die,” Roland replied, his little eyes filled with tears. 

“Oh sweetheart, it’s alright.” She cooed. “I’m okay now. I promise. And, I’m not going anywhere. It’s going to take something a lot worse than an appendicitis to take me away from my boys.” Roland seemed okay with that answer and the four of them spent the day together in the hospital room. The next day, Regina was feeling much better and was discharged from the hospital. She still had to take it easy but she felt loads better than she did a few days ago. Robin and Roland had picked her from the hospital and got her home.

“Let’s get you to the couch, milady,” Robin replied. He helped her sit down and got her settled. 

“Here mama, you can have my monkey to make you feel better,” Roland told her. 

“That is very sweet honey,” She replied, taking the stuffed animal. “Do you know what else would make me feel better?” She shook his head. “If you and Papa would cuddle with me on the couch and watch movies with me. Do you think you can do that?” Roland shook his head yes and smiled brightly at his mother. 

“I think that can definitely be arranged.” Robin agreed. “I’ll make some popcorn,” he added heading into the kitchen. Roland climbed up on the couch next to Regina and snuggled into his side. Though she was sore, Regina felt so much better than she had a few days ago. If this whole ordeal had taught her anything, it was that she, the mayor, even the evil queen, could still get sick. But she knew her family would always be there to may sure that she got better. 


End file.
